Glowing Lights in the Bay and Ocean at Night

Have you ever seen the glowing lights moving under the water in the bay or the ocean at night??

Those lights are Bottlenose dolphins or California sea lions. The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program is a program administered by the U.S Navy in the early 1960’s which studies the military use of marine mammals – principally bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions- and trains animals to perform tasks such as ship and harbor protection, mine detection and clearance, and equipment recovery. The program is based out of San Diego Harbor, California where the animals are housed and trained. Dolphin handlers can frequently be seen on the bay, where specialized small boats are used to transport dolphins between their pens and the training areas. Other locations are sometimes used for specific research, such as San Clemente Island in the Channel Islands of California, and torpedo test ranges in Seattle and Canada. The programs animal activities include protecting ports and Navy assets from swimmer attack, locating and assisting in the recovery of expensive exercise and training targets, and locating potentially dangerous sea mines. These are some smart animals!

You can catch a glimpse of these amazing creatures hard at work when you come sail or paddleboard with us!